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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25670293">dear dream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivyclub/pseuds/ivyclub'>ivyclub</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bottom Mark Lee (NCT), Cheating, Light Angst, M/M, Slice of Life, Top Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, cheating does not occur between mains, endgame markhyuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:23:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25670293</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivyclub/pseuds/ivyclub</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One day, Mark felt like the pole Donghyuck’s compass would point to, and he couldn’t shake it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>dear dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so. i initially wrote 4k in several different scenes and i thought okay, this is gonna work out. i got to 12k and didnt like it and honestly, i still dont like it but!! i wrote all 18k and its gonna get seen bc its written !<br/>title from the nct dream song of the same name </p><p>and a very happy birthday to mark lee, the holder of my heart, my sun and my moon, and every single star in my sky. this is all for you ♥️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After so many years of being at Mark’s side, you would think Donghyuck would recognize when something changed about his best friend. Except he didn’t, or not in the way he thought he would.</p><p>Donghyuck was perceptive enough to notice Mark’s haircuts and new clothes, if he changed his shampoo or if he didn’t eat breakfast. He grew up with Mark through playground swings and sandboxes; their first set of braces and rubber bands for their slight misalignment that Donghyuck carried into his older years; Mark’s vision to become a music producer come to life when he signed to help produce for Lee Taeyong under his company.</p><p>It might be that Donghyuck was so close that he didn’t notice, though Donghyuck finds it hard to believe. Recently Mark looked happy, and had a certain air about him that occupied the free space in Donghyuck’s head. Almost like Donghyuck couldn’t take his eyes off him when Mark was around, Donghyuck suddenly felt drawn to him for no discernible reason, it seemed.</p><p>And that’s why Donghyuck felt weird, because he didn’t know when this change happened. One day, Mark felt like the pole Donghyuck’s compass would point to, and he couldn’t shake it.</p><p>He doesn’t know when the idea started to plague him, but Donghyuck felt incredibly adamant to get Mark to go on a trip with just them two. Anywhere was fine, as long as they’d be together and Donghyuck would finally have a chance to figure out why he couldn’t stop thinking about the other.</p><p>By now, Donghyuck knows exactly what to do to get Mark to listen to him or pay attention to him. All those years attending school together paid off well as Donghyuck unlocks Mark’s door with the spare key he coaxed out of him two years ago, immediately heading to Mark’s bedroom.</p><p>Mark is still sleeping- given, it is 7am, and the earliest Mark needs to head in to work on most days is 9am. Donghyuck debates between getting the show on the road and waking Mark up himself, or letting him sleep in for a while longer. Of course he favors the idea of flopping right on top of the sleeping body and blowing into Mark’s ear until he wakes, while the better side of him tells Donghyuck to leave him alone.</p><p>So, Donghyuck pulls off his jacket and slides under the covers, tucking himself into Mark’s side for the better part of an hour.</p><p>Donghyuck doesn’t fall asleep though, meaning he is ready for when Mark’s steady breathing shifts into a snuffle, and he begins to wake up. He stares at Mark the whole time he comes out of his slumber, rubbing his cheek against the soft blankets. The older blinks sleep out of his eyes when he wakes up fully, his turning blocked by Donghyuck himself, who he looks at with disregard.</p><p>“Why’re you here?” Mark mumbles, sinking back onto the mattress.</p><p>“We’re going on a trip,” Donghyuck replies. “We’ll only be gone for like four days or like five or something, but I’ll help you pack if you get up now.”</p><p>“Mmm… I have work.”</p><p>“Actually, you have a break, I saw it on your calendar. C’mon, don’t you want to vacation with me?” At Mark’s silence, Donghyuck slaps his back. “After I bought the tickets and booked all the nights in the hotel already with my own pocket money, you treat me like this. Mark, that hurts. Honestly. I can hear my heart breaking right now.”</p><p>Mark’s groan is muffled by the pillow he shoves his face into. He knows Mark couldn’t care less about vacationing since he’s dedicated to his work as a producer, but the prospect of Donghyuck having paid for everything is more than enough to sway Mark. Minutes pass before he turns to face Donghyuck again, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.</p><p>“Okay, when do we leave?”</p><p>Donghyuck hoots loudly, clapping his hands as he sits up in Mark’s bed. “Tomorrow morning. Jaeminnie will come to the airport for moral support.”</p><p>“Tomorrow? It’s Wednesday? You mean we aren’t leaving today?” Mark nearly yells.</p><p>“I never said we were, I just said we’re going on a trip.” The look Donghyuck gets is enough to have him jumping out of Mark’s bed, stepping all over the jacket he took off and haphazardly threw onto the ground. “I’ll make you coffee! It’s a little after 8, so you know” he says, dodging the pillow Mark chucks at him and slipping out of his bedroom.</p><p>Just to be extra annoying, Donghyuck doesn’t close the bedroom door all the way. He skips to Mark’s small kitchen, pulling out the coffee beans Johnny gave him as a gift, and puts them into Mark’s coffee maker. Johnny might slaughter Mark if he knew his beans were being brewed so carelessly, and the thought makes Donghyuck laugh.</p><p>He can hear the water running as he waits for the coffee, listening to the rhythmic drops into the pot. Mark’s hair is all fluffed up when he comes from his bathroom, glasses on and still in his pajamas, and Donghyuck is hit with the overwhelming feeling of domesticity.</p><p>Greedily, Donghyuck basks in it, pouring out two mugs of black coffee and leaning against the bar as he sips it. And he lets himself play house for a little longer.</p><p>“What’re you doing today?”</p><p>Mark hums, thinking. “Today’s the deadline to finish Taeyong’s tracks, which is why I have a break after. Might end up bringing work home anyway,” Mark scoffs.</p><p>He pretends for a moment that Mark means here with Donghyuck when he says home, even though he knows for a fact Mark just means back here, to his place with no one in it. Because Donghyuck has a home. With Jaemin.</p><p>Jaemin is probably still asleep, normally not waking up until 9am on a good day. Donghyuck thinks he should go and make breakfast for him, since Donghyuck will be taking off the next few days on this impromptu vacation. His thoughts are interrupted when Mark calls his name.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“I asked what you’re gonna be doing, but clearly I have my answer,” Mark says.</p><p>“Actually, I’m gonna be here all day packing for you because I don’t want you looking ugly when we walk next to each other,” Donghyuck retorts. “I’ll bring Jaemin over too since you don’t have a cat or anything to keep me company.”</p><p>“Well, tell him to come over quickly. I wanna see him before I leave.” Mark raises his eyebrows at Donghyuck, leaving his half full mug on the countertop so he can go change. Donghyuck can feel his legs moving to follow Mark before he can stop them, and he's leaning against the doorframe of Mark's bedroom as Mark ruffles through his dresser.</p><p>"See, that shirt over there is not bad but you'd wear it with those ugly loose jeans and it's automatically worse," Donghyuck says.</p><p>Without hesitation, Mark grabs the shirt in question and tosses it, the clothing landing over Donghyuck's face. By the time he's done huffing and has tugged the shirt off his head, Mark has already changed into his streetwear. He quietly stands there, arms by his side as he watches Donghyuck watch him.</p><p>“Eight points,” he eventually says, too focused on the way Mark waited for his input.</p><p>“Out of ten?”</p><p>“Out of a hundred, don’t get too full of yourself Mark Lee.”</p><p>Rolling his eyes, Mark bends down to pick up Donghyuck’s nearly forgotten jacket- a simple black bomber- and shrugs it on. It has Donghyuck’s breath hitching when Mark’s nose wrinkles as he sniffs the collar, telling him, “Your cologne is way too strong.” He slips past Donghyuck out of the bedroom to the bathroom to grab his contacts before heading to put on his shoes. “If you’re gonna leave, close the windows and lock the door.”</p><p>“Sure thing.” With a wave, Mark leaves Donghyuck standing in the living room, alone with the feeling of wishing he could have that scene more often in his life.</p><p>The thought is pushed out as quickly as it came and Donghyuck feels guilty thinking about Mark like that when he sees Jaemin off nearly every day in the same manner. He huffs a few times, jumping up and down and swinging his arms, and then he pulls out his phone to call his boyfriend.</p><p>"Jaeminnie, are you up?" he asks, making his voice as motherly as possible. "Come over to Mark's, we're gonna be good friends today."</p><p>"<em>Aren't we always good friends?</em>" Jaemin grumbles, voice laced with sleep.</p><p>"Even better than before, then. We can go out for lunch too- you know Mark's place is closer to all the good restaurants." There's a muffled grunt of understanding from the other side, a reciprocated <em>I love you</em>, and then Jaemin hangs up.</p><p>Donghyuck watches Jaemin's contact photo pop up- a picture of him with cake smeared onto his face from his birthday two years ago. It was the first birthday they spent as a couple, and Donghyuck had prepared a second cake for him by himself after they had left the surprise party. Making the cake took a lot of effort, but nothing felt more gratifying than pushing Jaemin's face into all the cream as he bent to blow out the candles. Such a fond memory, and seeing the photo makes Donghyuck kiss his phone screen, wishing to go back to then.</p><p>Jaemin shows up nearly two hours later, like a traitor, meaning Donghyuck had since fallen asleep on Mark’s couch waiting for him. Mark also left the door unlocked in hopes that Donghyuck would lock it- which he obviously didn’t because Jaemin walks in easily and flops right on top of the other, waking him up.</p><p>It is commonplace to hear Jaemin cooing at people, so Donghyuck doesn’t know why he’s surprised to hear Jaemin’s warbling right in his ear, despite both of them having just woken up.</p><p>“Oh my oh my, is Hyuckie tired? He’s sleeping right here all alone when he invited me- how rude! Hyuckie, wake up.”</p><p>“No, I’m up,” Donghyuck grunts, trying to shift under the weight of the other. Jaemin laughs and wraps his arms around Donghyuck, kissing right behind his ear. When Donghyuck has wiggled enough to be on his back, Jaemin kisses him sweetly. He hums in contentment against Jaemin’s lips before they break away, Donghyuck now fully awake.</p><p>"Ugh, I need a coffee," Jaemin says, easing his weight off Donghyuck.</p><p>He suddenly remembers the coffee he never finished, sitting cold in a mug on Mark's countertop. "There's some over there," Donghyuck replies.</p><p>Jaemin gets up off Donghyuck fully and walks to the counter, peering into the half-empty mug. "It's cold."</p><p>"It's a pre-iced Americano, get with the times baby."</p><p>Jaemin only stares at him, hands on his hips with his head tilted and a look of disapproval on his face. Shrugging, Donghyuck gets up from the couch to stand next to Jaemin, giving another kiss against Jaemin’s grinning lips.</p><p>“Enough!” Jaemin giggles. “I thought we were packing today for our beloved Mark.”</p><p>“We are,” Donghyuck starts, eyes drifting to the clock on the microwave. Almost 11. “Let’s do it after lunch, hmm? Find a place to eat?”</p><p>They end up tangled between each other's limbs in the kitchen, with Donghyuck pinning Jaemin against the counter looking at his phone over his shoulder, and Jaemin doing the same over Donghyuck’s shoulder. Only ten minutes pass with them like this, and then Jaemin is complaining about his back hurting and they sit together on the couch Donghyuck was just on.</p><p>Momentarily, Donghyuck forgets they’re in Mark’s house as he lays his head across Jaemin’s lap. The curtains flutter as the wind blows by them, and Donghyuck is reminded that the entire room- the whole place, smells like Mark. Even with his nose basically touching Jaemin’s stomach, Donghyuck breathes in the way the summer air and Mark’s colognes mix together.</p><p>Half an hour later, Donghyuck and Jaemin are shoving on their shoes to go eat at a noodle place. Right as Donghyuck opens the door, he remembers he promised Mark he’d close all the windows, and runs back into the house to shut them. He’s hit with a little burst of pride for remembering, and locks the door on the way out, tucking the spare safely into his pocket.</p><p>It’s a rather warm day now after being a few degrees cooler when Donghyuck made the trek to Mark’s place so early in the morning. He laces his fingers with Jaemin’s as they wait at the bus stop, and he keeps holding his hand well after they have boarded and left the bus.</p><p>The restaurant is a short walk from the bus stop, along which Donghyuck swings their hands as Jaemin rambles about the kinds of noodles he likes best. When they make it into the noodle place, the air conditioned room carries cool air to the doorway, and Jaemin sighs in relief. But after only a few minutes of sitting as they flip through the menu, Donghyuck starts to shiver just a little.</p><p>“Are you cold?” Jaemin asks, glancing at Donghyuck over his menu.</p><p>“Ah- not really. Probably should’ve brought a jacket,” Donghyuck says. And then he remembers he did- this morning to Mark’s place he did, but Mark had taken it to work with him. “I’ll be fine.”</p><p>The bowl of soup noodles warms him up nicely, as does Jaemin’s order or pasta that Donghyuck steals bites of happily. He knows they’ll be regretful if they didn’t spend more time outside on such a beautiful day, so after lunch, they take a walk in a nearby park. Donghyuck doesn’t get to do this too often considering Jaemin works at a daycare center and rarely has days off. Suddenly, Donghyuck feels guilty for dragging Jaemin with him to Mark’s place, and he squeezes Jaemin’s hand briefly.</p><p>“Are you having fun?” Donghyuck asks, flexing his fingers.</p><p>“Of course I am! Why the question?”</p><p>“It’s just your day off and all, and I kinda forced you over to Mark’s…”</p><p>Jaemin squeezes Donghyuck’s hand tight enough to get his attention. “But I got to spend it with you, right? Plus, we need to celebrate Markie’s birthday when he comes back today. Let’s get a cake!” His quick deviation leaves Donghyuck getting tugged along with the image of Jaemin’s bright smile spread across his face.</p><p>It is a ways into the afternoon when they return and the flat is stuffy when they get back to it, Donghyuck immediately going to throw open the windows to let in fresh air. White curtains billow into the room every time a breeze passes, making Donghyuck wish these cooler summer days would last forever. Jaemin plants himself in front of Mark’s dresser with Donghyuck next to him as they go through the drawers and figure out the best clothes for Mark to wear.</p><p>“What are you even packing for?” Jaemin asks as he pulls out a plain black tee. “You never told me.”</p><p>“Taiwan,” Donghyuck says, grabbing the tee and folding it into a pile of clothes to pack with Mark. “Just a birthday gift.”</p><p>“Oh what a lucky boy, to have a best friend like you.” Donghyuck pretends to be bashful, waving his hand in dismissal of the compliment. Deep down, Donghyuck believes it runs both ways- as much as Donghyuck knows, or pretends to know, how grateful Mark is of him, he is just as grateful to have Mark as his best friend.</p><p>In the act, Donghyuk runs a finger behind his ear, pretending to tuck back hair. “I’m not bad, hmm?” Jaemin eats this up, reaching to squish his cheeks and cooing at him.</p><p>They forget their task for a few minutes, too absorbed in grappling each other to grab the others’ cheeks and tug. The pile of clothes to pack end up being mixed with the clothes that might be worth it to bring, mostly consisting of plain colored tees, meaning they have to sit and sort through once again.</p><p>Out of uncharacteristic consideration on Donghyuck’s behalf, they don’t go through Mark’s whole dresser. Granted, they’ve already been folding the same five black shirts for him and pretending that will be suitable because Donghyuck doesn’t want to open the other drawers and find something he doesn’t want to see, like green basketball shorts, but Donghyuck altruistically decides to let Mark pick out some of his own clothes to bring.</p><p>He texts a picture of the five black tees to Mark, saying his taste is so bad this is all they could decide on. Thirty seconds later, he gets a reply of <em>where’s jaemin?</em> and Jaemin laughs, forcing Donghyuck to take a picture of him for Mark.</p><p>They message back and forth for a bit with Jaemin occasionally chiming in. Donghyuck asks Mark what time he’ll be back home, and Mark tells him in a few hours depending on how fast they finish the track. Leaving the shirts on the floor, Donghyuck tugs Jaemin up onto Mark’s bed as they nap on top of the covers. He feels like he’s been sleeping all day, but it’s a rather nice way to spend his time if he has anything to say about it.</p><p>Jaemin’s annoying phone alarm wakes them up two hours later, the sun still high in the sky and shining through the bedroom window. Courteously, Jaemin and Donghyuck move to the kitchen to make dinner for all three of them. Though it is more of Jaemin making dinner and Donghyuck hovering in the kitchen, getting in the way, they get it done by the time Mark unlocks his door at 7.</p><p>“I’m back,” Mark calls out. “You better not be fucking on my bed.”</p><p>Donghyuck snorts and watches Mark step into the kitchen, his hair messy like he’d been nonstop running his fingers through it. His glasses are perched on top of his head, and Mark is still wearing the jacket he stole from Donghyuck this morning. He almost forgets where he is until Mark starts speaking.</p><p>“Jaemin, you don’t have to cook.”</p><p>Pouting, Jaemin tells him, “It’s a gift since you’ll be gone on the 2nd.” He turns to look at Mark once he turns off the burner. “Is that a new jacket?”</p><p>“Actually, it’s Hyuck’s. He called me ugly this morning and forced me to wear it,” Mark jokes easily. Something about how Mark didn’t tell Jaemin he wore it willingly to work makes Donghyuck’s breath stutter.</p><p>He doesn’t get the chance to dwell on it as he is ushered by Jaemin to stop lounging around and set the table. Mark’s dining table is far enough away from the kitchen that he can only watch Mark and Jaemin laughing together as he petulantly slaps the chopsticks onto the wood.</p><p>“Don’t break my stuff!” he hears Mark call out.</p><p>“Then stop having fun without me!” he calls back. He hears Mark’s contagious laugh and smiles to himself. Mark rushes into the dining room shortly after to put out a trivet, his glasses sliding down his nose.</p><p>Jaemin puts the whole pan of japchae onto the table and they eat from that, steam still billowing off the vegetables as they pull it away from the pan. And despite knowing how hot it is, Donghyuck still screams when it touches his tongue. The other two laugh at him, and Jaemin even moves Donghyuck’s hand under his mouth in case he spits it out.</p><p>Once the pan is clean, Jaemin gets up from the table to grab the nearly forgotten cake they bought earlier today from the fridge. Before making it back to the table, Donghyuck smacks off the lights, startling Mark.</p><p>“Ah, what’s this?” Mark asks as Donghyuck and Jaemin break out into song. The initial panic dissolves into joy as he sees Jaemin walk back with the cake. He sits and claps his hands happily, the flicker of the flame reflected in his lenses.</p><p>Illuminated by two candles, Donghyuck watches Mark clasp his hands in mock prayer as he makes his wish, his face bathed in warm light before shrouding them in darkness with one breath. Jaemin cheers and turns back on the light, and Donghyuck breaks his stare away.</p><p>“What’d you wish for?” Jaemin asks as Mark cuts the cake.</p><p>“It won’t come true if I tell you.”</p><p>“That’s kid stuff Mark! C’mon, what was it?” He gets up and crowds around Mark, hugging him and tickling him to get him to spill his answer.</p><p>“Stop it!” Mark giggles. “Stop, I’m holding a knife! Oh my gosh, I just wished for happiness, that’s it.”</p><p>Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Jaemin, light the candles again, give him a second try.”</p><p>At Mark’s insistence that it wasn’t that bad of a wish, both Donghyuck and Jaemin relent. And after two unsuccessful attempts to wipe frosting onto Mark’s face, they all eat their slice of cake.</p><p>All the dishes are done by 8pm, leaving Donghyuck and Jaemin time to terrorize Mark about what to pack for the trip as Mark looks through his own closet and drawers. In a wave of preliminary nuisance, Donghyuck kisses his teeth and tilts his head every time Mark pulls out something that has even a hint of color, leading to him pinned on the floor and Mark sitting on top of him once he catches on.</p><p>“Are my clothes that ugly?” Mark pouts, voice pitching.</p><p>“So ugly, Mark,” Donghyuck says. There’s still a smile plastered on his face, even as he grabs both of Mark’s hands to stop him from throttling him for real. “You’ve got some nice button downs and jackets you can pack! You just keep going through the stuff we already did!”</p><p>Jaemin comes in to pull Mark off of Donghyuck. “They aren’t that ugly, I promise. Hyuckie is so mean to you.”</p><p>“Yeah he is,” Mark whines, allowing himself to be moved back by Jaemin, who consoles him in a baby-voice.</p><p>“Are you conspiring against me? Your own boyfriend?” Donghyuck interrogates. He moves closer to them until he can wrap both arms around Mark and Jaemin, holding them all together as they scream in half protest and half glee. He can feel Mark’s fist lightly hitting his side while Jaemin tries to hug Donghyuck harder.</p><p>“Okay okay! Okay,” Mark eventually cries out. “Go home, let me finish packing.” Tears from laughter collect in the corners of his eyes that Donghyuck catches with happiness.</p><p>“Good, because I need to pack.”</p><p>“Hyuck, are you serious?” Donghyuck only shrugs unapologetically.</p><p>Mark finally shooes them out of his place and Jaemin and Donghyuck take the quiet bus back to their flat. As they walk through the door, Jaemin immediately heads towards the shower while Donghyuck makes his way to their room to start packing his own clothes. It doesn’t take very long, given the fact that he’d been thinking about what he would wear when he started thinking about this vacation. He lays the bomber he got back from Mark over the back of the chair of his desk with the lingering hope that Jaemin won't wash it because it's not in the hamper.</p><p>Right as he finishes, Donghyuck remembers the box he has in his bedside table. He moves to grab it, the velvet exterior catching on the dry skin of his hands. There’s no reason for him to bring it, and he doesn’t know why he even thinks to either. Half convincing himself he doesn’t want Jaemin to find it, Donghyuck tucks the box into the backmost pocket of his bag.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning, Donghyuck is not up before Jaemin is, which immediately indicates something will probably go wrong, according to Donghyuck himself. Jaemin does his normal routine of lying across Donghyuck and whining right into his ear about how he’s going to miss his flight and ruin Mark’s birthday gift, and that has Donghyuck springing up right away.</p><p>“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Donghyuck asks as he brushes his teeth.</p><p>“Your flight isn’t for another couple hours, I wanted you to sleep in.”</p><p>“You’re too kind. Don’t be.” That earns Donghyuck a smack on the arm.</p><p>After Donghyuck changes and Jaemin fusses over the type of sunscreen he should bring, Donghyuck checks over his bag once more to ensure he has everything he needs. He glances in the mirror to see his hair is still a mess and puts on a hat to remedy it. One more glance over, and Donghyuck is ready to leave.</p><p>The airport bus ride to Mark’s isn’t very long, though it feels like it takes forever. Donghyuck wonders if it’s anticipation to be with Mark or the idea of a vacation that has him so jumpy. Jaemin slaps his hand onto Donghyuck’s leg halfway through to get him to sit still and stop bouncing, asking him what he has to be so nervous for. Donghyuck doesn’t know.</p><p>Waiting at the bus stop a little ways from his place is Mark, hat pulled over his eyes and carrying the black backpack Donghyuck has gotten so familiar with. He takes a seat by the window in front of them, turning around to look at them both.</p><p>“Good morning."</p><p>“Morning," Donghyuck and Jaemin chime in unison. Donghyuck leans forward to rest his chin on Mark’s shoulder.</p><p>“Excited?”</p><p>“As excited as I can be this early.”</p><p>Traffic at nine in the morning isn’t nearly as awful as noon or eight, meaning they get to the airport in a timely manner. Jaemin stays with them until they get to security, and he lets go of Donghyuck’s hand to kiss him goodbye before pulling Mark into a hug.</p><p>“Oh, happy birthday. I’m sorry I couldn’t come, Markie. The kids are always busy.” Jaemin pouts as he rocks Mark back and forth in his arms.</p><p>“It’s okay. They need you there, they love you.”</p><p>“More than you guys love me?” Mark gives Jaemin a look and pats him on the back once more. With a smile, Jaemin turns to Donghyuck. “Behave. I’ll miss you so much.”</p><p>“Not like I’ll miss you,” Donghyuck says. He leans in to kiss Jaemin goodbye once more before going through security. Mark is watching the both of them with a satisfied expression when Donghyuck turns back around. “What?”</p><p>“You guys are nice together. It’s nothing,” Mark says, lips still turned up at the corners. "You still haven't told me where we're off to."</p><p>"You'll see once we reach the gate."</p><p>Security passes with little to no problems, and Donghyuck steers Mark away from looking at any departure announcements until they sit at the gate. They’re a little over an hour early, leaving Donghyuck a decent amount of time to ignore Mark’s questions of where they’re going.</p><p>When the tone rings that an announcement is going to occur, Donghyuck points to the loudspeaker, where the attendant says, “We will now begin boarding for flight KE 691 to Taoyuan, Taiwan.”</p><p>“We’re going to Taiwan?” Mark asks incredulously, hand coming to grab Donghyuck’s arm like he really can’t believe it.</p><p>“That’s what the announcement said, right?” Donghyuck replies with a grin. “C’mon, let’s board.”</p><p>The flight is two hours long, which was two hours of Mark’s eagerness bleeding through his normally composed exterior. Donghyuck naps through most of it, though he wakes up with half an hour left, and is greeted with Mark’s shaking leg and humming to himself. He becomes excited as well, and somewhat proud to have made Mark this way. Under the promise that Mark will have the window seat on the way back, Donghyuck watches the plane rise above the clouds as the skies change from Seoul to Taiwan, the endless blue getting brighter as it passes noon.</p><p>“What are we going to do?” Mark asks as the plane begins its descent.</p><p>“Anything you want. I only planned three things besides the destinations. We’ll be in Taipei tonight, then we’ll go to the southern tip tomorrow, and then Kaohsiung for two nights.”</p><p>Mark taps his temple then points at Donghyuck. “That helps.”</p><p>He pulls off his hat and runs his fingers through his hair a few times, then puts on his mask out of habit. Donghyuck keeps his gaze out the window and counts the seconds as they land on the runway. No turning back now.</p><p>They only had their carry-ons that they tucked under the seat in front of them, so they were quick to leave the plane and get through security. Donghyuck remembers to find a kiosk to buy two EasyCard’s for them to use for the public transportation, dragging Mark along as a translator and repeating everything he was saying the whole time. He is the one to exchange their currencies for them, only because the person working knew how to speak limited Korean.</p><p>It’s typhoon season and Donghyuck can nearly taste the water in the air as they step out of the cooled airport, shirt immediately sticking to his skin. The midday sun is high in the sky, and with it shining down onto Donghyuk’s face, it only makes sweat bead faster along his hairline. He jealously looks over to Mark who seems unaffected by the heat to the extent Donghyuck is.</p><p>“Do you wanna drop off your stuff first?” Donghyuck asks out of courtesy. No matter what Mark says, he’s definitely going to bring them to their hotel for the night anyway, if not so Donghyuck can at least wash his face in some cold water.</p><p>“We can. We gotta fill our water bottles too, or we’ll die out here.”</p><p>Against better judgement, they choose to take the bus to the stop nearest to their hotel, which only forces sweat to collect on his whole being as he stands amongst crowded bodies. Donghyuck finds himself lucky that he was lucid enough to catch their stop, but now they have to hike a couple blocks to their hotel. He can almost feel the aircon with every step they make, and Mark laughs at how Donghyuck complains.</p><p>“You brought us here, not me,” Mark teases, now also showing signs of fatigue.</p><p>When they make it to their lodging, Donghyuck shoves Mark forward to talk to the concierge as he stands behind him, head on Mark’s back as they stand under the air conditioning. Mark finishes checking in quickly, and Donghyuck wraps his arms around Mark’s middle once he starts to walk.</p><p>“Ah, let me go, it’s hot!” Mark tries prying Donghyuck’s arms from him to no avail, instead leaving his hands covering Donghyuck’s. He stays stuck like a starfish until they make it all the way up to their room, where Donghyuck flops onto one of the two beds. “Are we doing anything today?”</p><p>Bringing his head up from the sheets, Donghyuck turns to look at Mark, whose mask was finally pulled from his face and his hat off. “I reserved tickets for Taipei 101 at 6, but otherwise nothing.”</p><p>“Is that one of the three?”</p><p>“Sure is.”</p><p>“Okay, I’m gonna get all this sweat off me then.” Mark disappears into the bathroom while Donghyuck stays on the bed, soaking in the dry and cold air.</p><p>From his place laying down, he takes in as much of the room as he can. It feels like a standard hotel room with more subtle features, such as the lack of shelving in front of the beds. There are two lamps on either side of the headboard, and a small desk with a chair by the windows next to him. Looking over, he sees the wall to the bathroom is just about translucent and what will be Mark’s bed is pressed up against it. He can barely make out the warped outline of Mark’s body, though it’s probably for the better.</p><p>After a few minutes, he can feel himself cooling down and lets out a sigh of relief. He can barely hear Mark’s humming through the frosted shower wall. Still, he keeps it in mind not to sing too loud when he takes a shower later tonight.</p><p>It only takes a few minutes for Mark to finish his shower, to which Donghyuck gets up to wash his face, and feeling especially better after doing so. Once he comes back, he goes right over to where Mark has laid down on the other bed and flops on top of him. Mark doesn’t complain or say anything about it to Donghyuck’s delight, but he’s on his phone and ignores Donghyuck’s incessant teasing and prodding.</p><p>“I want to go to the aquarium,” Mark says.</p><p>“We can. Where is it?” Donghyuck asks, giving up his tries to annoy Mark.</p><p>“Uh. Near Kenting. Kenting? Am I saying that right?”</p><p>Donghyuck laughs, feeling the laugh rumble through Mark below him. “Sure. Ready to head out?”</p><p>“Head where?”</p><p>“Well, eat first of all. We could go to 101.”</p><p>Mark’s arms fall onto Donghyuck’s back and he bends to the side to look at him. “I thought our tickets were at 6?”</p><p>“Mark, the tower is 101 floors tall. I’m sure there are other things to do.”</p><p>“Wait, so it’s not like CN Tower, you don’t just go up and that’s it?” Donghyuck pushes himself off Mark to look at him.</p><p>“Okay. Get up, we’re going.”</p><p>Taipei 101 is only a few minutes walk from their hotel. It’s far enough that Donghyuck is sweating again, though he already felt as if his skin was condensating the second they stepped out of the lobby. The area surrounding the exterior is understandably busy, and Donghyuck is thankful they won’t be here tomorrow to see how crowded it might get.</p><p>From what Donghyuck learned as he was booking tickets, the first five floors are a shopping plaza which gives them time to do something before the sun sets. As he walks in through the entrance, he can already see the high end names on the signs above them, dark brown against the white and polished interior of the ground level. Even with the openness, the crowds of people seemingly fill all the empty space.</p><p>“Hyuck, why did we come here early? I can’t afford this,” Mark says incredulously.</p><p>“Looking is free Mark.”</p><p>He hopes that Mark is keen enough to stay by his side without them needing to hold hands like they’re children. They weave around groups of people along the floors, too nervous to actually walk inside any of the stores with the abundance of suited men standing guard at the entrance. Maybe it’s the guise of luxury that the whole mall has going for it, but even the escalator rides feel smoother.</p><p>Some time after an hour of wandering, Mark suggests splitting up to go walk around, which Donghyuck agrees to reluctantly. He takes off onto the third floor while Donghyuck lingers, looking around himself uselessly.</p><p>He walks into the Cartier store because he has nothing better to do, and the two guards that stand at the entranceway eye him as he makes his way in. Just like the rest of the mall, the interior is clad in pristine white that makes Donghyuck feel astoundingly out of place. Almost immediately, he regrets coming in because there are so few people, meaning one of the workers is bound to approach him. He hopes he looks Korean enough that they’ll speak in English to him.</p><p>Surely enough, one of the saleswomen greets him and asks if he needs assistance, and he tells her he’s just looking. Warm gold glints in the accents of the padded walls as he walks by them, hands clasped behind him like he were in a museum. He doesn’t know why he came into here, of all the stores on this floor, considering he probably couldn’t even afford the flowers they have as decoration on the countertops.</p><p>Glass displays line the perimeter of the store, even the metal around the joins done in gold to match the rest of the store. Leaning over one of the cases, Donghyuck catches sight of a simple gold band. Thin, polished to a sparkle, and the most plain out of everything else in the store. He moves to touch the glass over where it sits in its pillow, white like the store.</p><p>“Are you interested in this ring, sir?” a saleswoman asks him. He yanks his hand back.</p><p>“Uh, no. Sorry. Thank you.” Imagining the box he had tucked away somewhere back in his bag at the hotel, he turns away, leaving the store to sit at one of the benches to wait for Mark.</p><p>As expected, Mark comes back to him empty-handed. Donghyuck is lost in thought, staring up at the tiled ceiling when Mark approaches him, asking, ”What’s up with you?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“I said,” Mark starts, sitting down next to Donghyuck, “what is up with you? What are you looking at?”</p><p>“How clean the ceilings are. Are you ready to go up the tower?” Donghyuck says, tipping his head back to face forward. He turns to face Mark, who is looking at him with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>Normally, Donghyuck knows Mark would rather not do anything that involves extreme heights which leaves him wondering why Mark seems excited to go up the tower. It’s probably because they are in a landmark and the second tallest building in the world. Because he was resourceful enough to book their tickets online, their line to wait is much shorter than general entry to the tower. The booked times also make it easier to step onto the elevator, greeted with the announcement video to the tower and the experience they are about to have.</p><p>He thinks his ears pop but he can’t tell over the feeling of being accelerated skywards at 60 kilometers an hour. When the elevator reaches the top floor, the doors open to a panoramic view of the Taiwan cityscape, the blue sky starting to tint at the edges as the sun sinks past the horizon. People brush past him as he and Mark walk closer to the rails lining the paneless windows.</p><p>Donghyuck wasn’t able to get tickets to the 101st floor, though as he looks out and down onto the skyscrapers that barely touch half the height of the tower, he’s rather glad he didn’t. He can hear Mark’s noise of surprise as he nears the railing, grabbing it with shaky hands and leaning to look out the window better.</p><p>Playfully, Donghyuck throws an arm around Mark’s waist, both holding tight onto him and pushing him forward as he says “Boo!” Just as quickly, Mark’s hands grip onto Donghyuck’s arms as he curses.</p><p>“Oh my god, don’t do that!” Mark complains breathlessly, fingers digging into his skin. Donghyuck can feel his heart hammering through his shirt.</p><p>Backing off, he moves the arm up to go around Mark’s shoulders. The sky has morphed into pinks and oranges now, with the clouds drifting below them, and building lights start to flicker on prematurely. Donghyuck watches the sun in the reflection of Mark’s glasses, too focused on Mark’s focused gaze and serene expression to look at the sunset.</p><p>“It was so pretty until you scared me,” Mark says.</p><p>“Yeah, okay.” He can see how Mark’s eyes flicker to each of the building lights, and then he turns to face Donghyuck.</p><p>"Did you book at 6 for the sunset?" Mark asks, unperturbed by the distance between his and Donghyuck's face.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"Good choice, good choice." Sighing, Mark leans forward onto the barrier, making Donghyuck's arm slip off his shoulders. He pulls out his phone from his back pocket and takes a few pictures, even turning to point the camera at Donghyuck. Subsequently, Donghyuck remembers he should do the same. At the last moments of the sun's set, he takes a picture of the sliver of light behind the buildings.</p><p>He doesn’t know if he lingers up on the tower to prolong the moment, like the aura of the sunset still warms the observation deck, or if he’s there to be there. Mark starts getting a little antsy, which Donghyuck presumes is from remembering how high up they are- something more apparent now as the sky loses light. He cautiously looks over the rails at the descending heights, and the cars that he can barely make out in the shadows of the buildings.</p><p>When they leave the tower, it's dark outside, though that would be expected. The abundance of street lamps outside the exits makes the night seem brighter than it actually is. Motorists pass them on the roadways as they walk down the sidewalks, small bugs flitting by their faces that Donghyuck tries swatting away.</p><p>"Where to?" Mark asks.</p><p>“We are going to eat. If you can stand walking twenty minutes, there's a night market."</p><p>He’s glad it’s only twenty minutes because Donghyuck is starting to get hungry too, and the mention of Taiwan will always bring their street food. Taiwan’s night markets are packed with people, the scents of food drifting even blocks away, and the sound of all the people bouncing between the buildings on the streets they set up in. Donghyuck is captivated by the signs and the stands that line the sides, and the motor scooters that weave between the people walking.</p><p>It’s impossibly hotter when they walk into the thick of the market, with all the bodies and the heat from the grills of the vendors. He grabs Mark’s hand to keep him close as the crowds brush by them, which Mark lets go of several times to grab Donghyuck’s shirt and push him ahead through the people. Although he feels a moment of guilt for having Mark order the food, the guilt disappears when he eats. They shy away from the stinky tofu (“Another time,” Mark said nervously) but Donghyuck indulges himself in grilled squid and baby abalone.</p><p>There are a few restaurants inside the buildings the market is set up along that Donghyuck considers going in for a bowl of noodles before realizing they’ll be around Taiwan for the next four days and they’ll get the chance to later. He spots a few street vendors selling children’s toys and even a stand that has a penis mascot, which he laughs at and asks Mark about. It’s pineapple cakes in the shape of penises, apparently, and he forces Mark to buy one so he can laugh at it up close.</p><p>After they buy a sugar cane drink that’s sweet enough to make Donghyuck’s gums hurt, Mark perks up, saying, “It’s gonna rain soon.”</p><p>“What?” As he asks, Donghyuck can feel raindrops on his arms. “Oh, sooner than later there Mark.”</p><p>"At least I told you."</p><p>They’re still standing under the awning of the drink stall as the rain suddenly comes down more steadily. Most people pull out their umbrellas, adding another layer of crowdedness to the already packed streetway. Donghyuck looks up into the sky and watches the rain falling in front of the lights of the stalls, hand out from beneath the awning to feel the water against his skin. He’s still warm, still covered in a layer of sweat over already cooled sweat, so Donghyuck steps out from under the awning into the rain.</p><p>“Hyuck, come back under here! I’ll see if they’re selling umbrellas somewhere,” Mark says, waving his hand towards him.</p><p>“It’s just water Mark. Plus an umbrella is one more thing to pack.”</p><p>“So are we just gonna wait it out? It could be forever, c'mon."</p><p>Donghyuck grins and walks closer to Mark, grabbing both his forearms and tugging him into the onslaught. Mark lets out a short scream as the rain hits his arms and then his head. The rain isn’t coming down hard enough to soak them quite yet. “See? You’re already wet.”</p><p>Mark slaps his arm. He takes off his glasses and holds them in one hand, rather useless now that they’re covered in rain. “Okay, then now what?”</p><p>“Let’s head back.”</p><p>"Head back? To where?"</p><p>"The hotel." Mark tips his head.</p><p>"Do you know the way back?"</p><p>"Of course not, who do you think I am."</p><p>Just as they made it in, Donghyuck grabs Mark’s hand and leads them out of the crowded market, greeted with an open road and roaring cars. Thunder rolls above their heads, making both of them jolt in surprise as they stand around, waiting for nothing. Huffing, Donghyuck turns and starts walking towards the general direction of their hotel.</p><p>He doesn’t know if it starts raining harder or if he’s moving head on into more rain, but Donghyuck picks up his pace a little. Mark calls out his name and he looks back, jogging ahead to wait for Mark under a tree. As Mark gets closer, he runs past Donghyuck, now the one to turn back and look at him from a distance. A loud rumble of thunder sounds again, and Donghyuck takes off from his place under the tree, running to and past Mark.</p><p>They sprint under jutting overhangs and the lips of buildings that have a foot of space to keep them and others leaving their umbrellas at home dry, constantly on each other’s tail. People walking along the sidewalks they run on watch as Donghyuck chases after Mark, and Mark after him, crying out in triumph each time they match pace and get next to each other. Taipei 101 blurs past them and the faint feeling of the powerful air conditioning inside the building drifts out to Donghyuck. Donghyuck knows his shoes are going to be ruined as they kick up puddles with every step, sometimes intentionally slowing enough in front of the other so they can stomp hard into the water.</p><p>By the time Donghyuck reaches the parking lot of their hotel, he’s soaking wet. Mark got there first and he sits on the ledge of the flowerbeds, panting. Water drips off the ends of his hair and falls onto his already saturated clothes. He looks up at Donghyuck, face flushed and tongue out, and he smiles.</p><p>Wringing the bottom of their shirts out, they step inside and the cool air sends an immediate shiver up their spines. Courteously and uselessly, they wipe their shoes off on the mat in the front, giggling as the worker behind the desk watches them drip water all over the tiled floors. Mark walks over to the worker with a bright smile, trying his best not to touch anything.</p><p>“Do you have any newspaper?”</p><p>A trail of water gets left from the desk up to their floor, where it soaks into the carpet and leaves a wet mark. Once in the hotel room, Mark strips off his shirt and his pants and drops them both in a wet bundle into the sink, and Donghyuck does the same.</p><p>“You should shower first,” Mark says, breathless and still smiling. He's squatting on the floor, crumpling the newspaper to shove into their shoes.</p><p>Donghyuck smiles back at him and goes into the bathroom. He's debating between taking a warm shower, which would be nice considering the coolness of the rainwater on his skin, or a cold one, which would do well for his body that still burns hot from his running. Settling on a cold shower, he stands under the spray, letting it wash over him like the rainwater. A day's worth of sweat rolls down the drain.</p><p>He comes out feeling refreshed for the most part. As he looks at the clothes in the sink, he feels the phantom race of his heart as he booked it down the busy streets. They won't dry by tomorrow, but Donghyuck doesn't quite care.</p><p>Mark is laying on his stomach with a pair of sweatpants on. "Done?"</p><p>"All yours."</p><p>Donghyuck remembered not to sing during his shower which meant Mark sang once he got in. He hears the notes though the wall as he walks through the room, tidying his things to prepare for tomorrow's leave. Fatigue that Donghyuck believes is from the run finally sinks into his muscles as he lays down onto the bed.</p><p>Faintly, he hears the hair dryer inside the bathroom switch on which jolts him at first. It becomes white noise that he drifts off to, telling himself it’ll only be a few minutes.</p><p>"Are you asleep?" Mark asks. He doesn't know when Mark came out, but his voice appears next to his ear without warning.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"Gross, brush your teeth at least. I'm gonna hang the clothes."</p><p>"Thanks mom."</p><p>They stand together in the bathroom: Donghyuck brushing his teeth and watching Mark grab the plastic hangers from the closet and suspend their dripping clothes on the shower curtain rod over the tub. Most of the water drips off onto the tiled floor because of how they’re hanging and Mark giggles before grabbing a spare towel and laying it on the ground. Once again, Donghyuck feels the rush of domesticity, especially after Mark finishes and grabs his own toothbrush, standing next to him and staring at each other in the mirror.</p><p>Lying in bed, Donghyuck didn’t fall asleep for a few hours, even with how tired he was earlier. Even through the hum of the air conditioner, he can hear Mark’s steady breathing and the shuffle of his blankets. He really wants to sleep next to Mark- something he credits to having slept next to Jaemin for so long that he’s now accustomed to a body next to his. He keeps telling himself this as he drifts off to the sound of Mark’s exhales and the rain from the passing typhoon.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a travelling day, today,” Donghyuck says. It’s the first coherent words that leave his mouth the next morning once he’s woken up fully and changed.</p><p>Mark just finished brushing his teeth and was now sitting on the bed, covers draped over his body as he thought about what to wear. He’s normally the first up, but Donghyuck doesn’t blame him for wanting to sleep in later. Equally, it’s almost 9am and he’s surprised himself by being awake before Mark.</p><p>“Travelling where?” Mark asks, choosing one of the several black tees he packed.</p><p>“Gotta make it across the island to the aquarium. We’re making one stop though.”</p><p>“Second of three?” Donghyuck nods, and Mark mirrors it. "Will you tell me where we're going?"</p><p>"Sun Moon Lake."</p><p>“Oh! I read about that,” Mark says, tugging his jeans on. As he gets dressed, Donghyuck listens to him talk about what he learned from his reading on the plane.</p><p>Their shoes are most definitely not dry as they stick their feet in and are greeted with the wetness of the inside liner in simultaneous groans. The clothes, on the other hand, are only a little wet and they try to stretch the drying time by going to the hotel’s breakfast before they leave, though they end up packing their clothes in their still damp state once they come back. Donghyuck is partially grateful because he remembered to shove some plastic bags into his bag before he left, but forgot to pack an umbrella when it’s typhoon season. As if they would’ve wanted to carry them.</p><p>Outside is slightly cooler from yesterday because of the rain, the smell of the wetness permeating the air and leaving the sidewalks patchy. It’s still drizzling a little - not enough to cause concern. Donghyuck and Mark just pull their caps lower as they walk to the bus station. He read earlier in the forecast on his phone that the rain would clear in a few hours and leave the sky slightly overcast.</p><p>Getting to their destination is a little inconvenient as much as Donghyuck is unwilling to admit: a bus ride to the train station, where the train will take them to another bus station to take them to where they need to go. Donghyuck presumed if they were going to cut across Taiwan anyway, they might as well make a stop.</p><p>It’s easy enough to buy their tickets, especially with the passes, and they make it onto the train from Taipei to Taichung in no time. Donghyuck shrugs off his bag with a sigh, happy to let the weight off his shoulders. He takes in the few moments of reprieve, knowing he’ll be carrying it around for a good amount of time in the following days. While he’s at it, he toes off his shoes too to let the bottoms of his socks and shoes dry as much as they can, telling Mark to do the same.</p><p>He actively tries not to fall asleep on the train knowing they’ll need to get off at a certain place and transfer to the bus stop. Mark however falls asleep next to him, face hidden under his hat and hands folded in his lap over his bag. The quiet of the train leaves Donghyuck to think about the city outside the window.</p><p>Taiwan was not the first choice, yet Donghyuck can't say he regrets it. Even in the middle of a storm, Donghyuck felt energized by the city and by Mark, who seemed to glow brilliantly under the Taiwan skies. He turns to look at him, risks waking him up by pulling the rim of the hat so he can see Mark's face better. Watching Mark while he sleeps isn't a hobby or anything, but Donghyuck realizes he's never seen Mark so relaxed while asleep. The feeling of pride- being able to give Mark this- rushes through him once again.</p><p>A one hour train ride bleeds into a nearly two hour bus ride, most of which Donghyuck allows himself to sleep through and Mark is awake through. Because their bus was to an exact destination, Donghyuck didn’t worry too much about keeping himself up, even knowing he’ll miss some of the scenery on the way there. He wakes up by himself a few times and looks next to him, where Mark sits in front of the view of passing trees and climbing cliffs. It's the last time he falls asleep for the remainder of the ride.</p><p>True to the forecast, the rain has stopped but has left a low fog in its place, the entire outside shrouded in a fine grey. He can definitely feel the water in the air, and being at a lake probably doesn't help that either.</p><p>"Damn, it’s kinda foggy. Must’ve really rained last night." Mark says as they step off the bus onto the sidewalk. “Look at all the boats.”</p><p>“Mark, it’s typhoon season, it’ll probably rain again today.”</p><p>Mark pouts. “I hope not, my shoes are almost done thinking about drying.”</p><p>“We’ll be basically inside a bus all day Mark. It’s the whole country we gotta cut through.”</p><p>They follow the other people from the bus past the fencing dividing the roadside from the bridge over the lake. From here, they can see the boats that float in the water lazily, no wind or waves to rock them. The whole lake is quiet except for the people walking it like them and the buzzing mosquitoes that linger in the trees.</p><p>Donghyuck adjusts his backpack as he walks down the bridge, running his hand along another railing that separates the bridge from the docks. The tap of their shoes on the wood is even and he tries to match Mark’s pace so they sound as one.</p><p>“It’s peaceful- is that why we came here?”</p><p>“I thought it was pretty,” Donghyuck belatedly answers.</p><p>He turns to look out now at the expanse of the lake and the shadow of the mountains that sit behind it, looming in the fog. The clouds ghost over the very top of the furthest mountain, turning the sky into a translucent white that fades into a cool green as it nears the body of water. Donghyuck knew the mountain would be there from seeing photos, but seeing it in person makes him feel small. As if he suddenly remembered his place in the world with Mark.</p><p>They follow the bridge as far as they can tolerate. Near the end of the trail, they spot a few barges out on the lake that seem to house people. A man standing at the end, fixing the umbrella he sits under as he looks out into the water and watches the boats go by. The lake is so inexplicably large that at some points, there is only one boat out bobbing in the water, tethered to its dock while the mountain towers behind it.</p><p>The bridge starts to change into tiled stone with varied blue tiles embedded into the pattern as they get closer to where the hotels along the lake have set up. At that point, they choose to turn around, ending their leisurely stroll.</p><p>“Did you enjoy the walk by the lakeside?”</p><p>“It was nice. Quiet- new coming from you,” Mark jokes.</p><p>Donghyuck claps his hand onto Mark’s shoulder, pushing his tongue into his cheek. “And I was just starting to enjoy this trip with you Mark.”</p><p>Getting to Kenting would be a hassle. Two bus rides, a train ride, and another bus ride plus some walking to their hotel. The first bus ride was only a few minutes, only to get to another bus stop to take them to a train station. Donghyuck is beyond thankful for Mark’s optimism and love for road trips because he’s sure he would’ve lost his mind if it were Mark bringing him across a country as a birthday gift.</p><p>After the hour bus ride back to Taichung, they buy premade bento boxes at the train station to eat while aboard. Donghyuck wheedles half of Mark’s tea egg from him two pieces of his soy sauce braised chicken- a fair trade given Donghyuck had one whole tea egg already. It’s a rather late lunch given it's a little past 3pm though it fills them just the same. The train is also an hour long, most of which they spend messing with each other now that they were energized from their lunch.</p><p>From the Zuoying Station, they find the bus that takes them to the Kenting National Park, or somewhere close to it. A two hour bus ride regrettably, but it’s the last one and it was the most convenient and cost-efficient way to get to where they needed to go.</p><p>Donghyuck had considered making another stop at the salt fields in Tainan, and was glad he decided against it once he realized how much time they needed to get there and across the country. It might’ve been cooler to see than the Sun Moon Lake, though the overcast skies might not have reflected as well off the flats versus the clear skies, where it would feel like they were walking among the clouds. Donghyuck pins the thought in his head for another time.</p><p>Two hours is an absurdly long amount of time in Donghyuck’s world. After having been on some variety of moving vehicle for nearly five hours now, the remaining two don’t seem as preposterous as they once were. He leans over to place his head on Mark’s shoulder as Mark plays his phone games and does whatever else he can to pass the time. They’ve already slept off all the hours that they could in a day, so they settle on sitting in comfortable silence for the remainder of the ride.</p><p>Rain does fall, steadily outside the bus. Donghyuck and Mark watch the clouds roll into greys over them, casting the sky into darkness. They make a game of counting the raindrops on their pane of window, pointing at the largest and seeing which will reach the bottom first.</p><p>When they pass the sign for the park, Mark perks up and taps on Donghyuck’s arm. Finally able to stretch their legs, Mark and Donghyuck get off the bus, greeted by the familiar humid air of Taiwan. It feels like it’s about to rain despite the sky being clear.</p><p>Just as on the first day, once they make it into their hotel room, they flop down onto the two beds and stay down for a while. The weight of his bag presses him further into the mattress, and Donghyuck exhales deeply.</p><p>“Having fun so far?” Donghyuck asks, voice muffled by the sheets. Receiving no response, Donghyuck pulls his face up. “Did you die on me? Gotta haul ass when we go back?”</p><p>Mark’s body jerks as he laughs, turning to face Donghyuck as a deluge of giggles pour from his mouth. He shrugs off his bag and his arms flop onto the mattress. “Just tired.”</p><p>“We’ve been sleeping all day.”</p><p>“Uh, you have, not me.” Mark sits back up, shaking his head to fluff out his hair from when it was flattened under his hat. Donghyuck rolls his eyes.</p><p>Having carried around their bags all day, even if they weren’t on their backs, both breathed a sigh of relief at not having to bring it with them for the next few hours. Being able to head out, they had a renewed sense of energy from finally being unrestrained by a seat belt.</p><p>The beach was a walk away from their hotel. There was already a dwindling number of people as more headed home to prepare dinner, the bright blue umbrellas sparse along the length of the beach. Donghyuck takes his shoes off once he steps into the sand while Mark keeps his on, apparently content to have sand covered socks once it inevitably gets into his shoes.</p><p>With it having stopped raining, the sky reflects onto the waters as a beautiful blue. Donghyuck stands right at the shore, weak waves rolling up and over his ankles, slightly warm from it being under the light of the sun.</p><p>“Come here,” he calls out to Mark. Holding out his hand behind him, he turns to see if Mark will grab it.</p><p>“My shoes will get wet again, Hyuck,” Mark complains, hand in his and stepping closer anyway.</p><p>“Well, we can dry them again.”</p><p>“And if they aren’t by tomorrow, you’re wearing them.”</p><p>Mark stands back just far enough that the toes of his canvas shoes get kissed by the waves. Donghyuck doesn’t tug him forward any more. They watch the seafoam gather at the shore and the people in the far distance who swim in the waters, their hands still clasped together. Donghyuck can’t tell if it’s his heartbeat or Mark’s that he feels through their skin.</p><p> </p><p>Significantly less traveling is to be done in their last two days, so Donghyuck wakes up late in the morning. They had a wonderful dinner by the seaside last night that Donghyuck sent pictures to Jaemin of and continued their conversation until morning. He lays and texts Jaemin back, asking him about how lonely it must’ve been without him. Thinking Mark was in the bathroom, Donghyuck jolts when he hears the door open.</p><p>“Where did you go?” he asks, voice cracking.</p><p>“Out. The beach looks super nice in the morning too when it’s cooler outside.”</p><p>“Wish I could’ve come.”</p><p>“Wish you were there.”</p><p>Just like in the kitchen of Mark’s place so many days ago, Donghyuck pretends Mark meant it seriously. “Okay, like you couldn’t have just woken me up.”</p><p>Once Donghyuck is dressed, they repack their bags and prepare themselves for another day of needing to carry it around. If Donghyuck ever plans this kind of vacation ever again, he’s going to make sure he stays in one place for more than one day at a time. Before they go to the aquarium, they find a place to eat a late breakfast early lunch.</p><p>It feels natural to have gone for soup dumplings, so that’s what they did. Donghyuck burned the roof of his mouth twice, but Mark did too at least once so it’s even in his eyes. The food is so incredible, Donghyuck almost doesn’t mind having to lug around his bag if he could replenish his energy like this.</p><p>The aquarium itself is twenty minutes by bus which feels like no time at all. He’s sure they look like fools walking in with their stuffed backpacks though they haven’t reached the point of making the bag look too bulky. Security passes them through anyway and they walk past to the opening plaza, where two metal whales are modelled in a fountain.</p><p>They’re brought to all the fish that would be in a river, encased behind thick glass. Rock surrounds them, as if they’ve walked into a cave and are watching the fish in the streams of the cliffs they swim by. Donghyuck becomes fixated on a turtle at the bottom, opening and closing his mouth as other fish pass above it.</p><p>Green and brown tinted waters fade into clearer bluer ones the further they walk in. Coastal fish quickly replace the freshwater carp and algae covered rocks as bigger tanks that take up whole walls start to appear more and more. An oyster farming tank is situated among them that Donghyuck finds interest in. Several long strands of what looks like oysters clinging to a string are arranged in the semicircular tank as medium sized fish swim between them. Another area is dedicated to the estuary where they find crabs and clams scuttling along the clean sandy floors of the tanks.</p><p>They find very few tanks with jellyfish, much to Mark’s dismay. “I like seeing them change color,” he whines. Mark’s fingers dance over the glass, tracing the tentacles of the seemingly rainbow colored jellyfish. “They’re so transparent that they’ll change color with the lights, Hyuck. That’s cool.”</p><p>“Mark, only kids get excited by that stuff.” Scowling, Mark turns away from the tank and walks ahead.</p><p>They go down a ramp to a darker hallway until they reach the largest tank in the museum- a floor to ceiling glass enclosure of manta rays, several schools of large and small fish, and the occasional whale. The floor is sunken down to allow the tank to be as large as possible. A railing is situated in front of the tank though Mark looks as if his nose is nearly touching the glass.</p><p>Donghyuck stands next to Mark, watching him become starry-eyed at the large manta rays that swim by, their fins flapping gracefully between the other school of fish in the tank. The light that shines through the water refracts off the glass and makes it seem as if Mark is surrounded by a halo of blue. It feels like the three kids standing next to them meld into the water, and the mother on the other side of Mark disappears beyond the reef too. Suddenly, the large tank is the only thing in the aquarium besides him and Mark, and the same existentialism that Donghyuck felt at seeing the mountain at Sun Moon Lake comes back.</p><p>He’s captivated.</p><p>The kids don’t come back into his awareness, they just are, and so is the mother. For Donghyuck, the aquarium is only the sound of blood rushing to his ears and the light from the top of the tank that shines in wobbly beams through the endless water and the glass to fall in a spotlight onto him and Mark.</p><p>Like a lightbulb went off, Donghyuck doesn’t take his eyes off Mark the rest of the time they’re in the aquarium. Even when they walk through the hallway where the tank surrounds them on nearly all sides, he still looks at Mark. Even when the next hallway tank has a whale that shows up next to him out of seemingly nowhere and he jumps in shock, he watches Mark laugh at him.</p><p>Mark begs to go back to the touch pool despite Donghyuck knowing he’s probably petrified because, “We’re here, so let’s just do it!”</p><p>He pushes his bracelets up his arm and does the same to Donghyuck before they wash their hands. Signs posted around the touch pool tell them to be careful and to not grab anything, but seeing the sea urchins later down the pool leads Donghyuck to believe they don’t need much help enforcing that rule.</p><p>Under the supervision of the museum guide, Mark and Donghyuck stick their hands into the cool water. Hidden right at the edge of the tank was a starfish that Donghyuck unknowingly grazed over and yelped, yanking his hand out in shock. Mark laughs and brings his hand back in to touch it with more confidence. This one has rougher skin which makes Donghyuck nervous.</p><p>“I thought they were supposed to be soft and squishy,” Donghyuck says, a slight waver in his voice. He lets himself touch a sand dollar with a shaky hand.</p><p>“Not all of them, I guess. Look, here’s another.” Mark points to a larger sea star in the middle of the tank that the other kids touch happily.</p><p>“You can touch that one, I’m not.”</p><p>Donghyuck starts to draw his hand out of the water, but Mark grabs his wrist lightly. “It’s not that scary!” Mark moves both of their hands over to the sea star that is not moving it’s legs, trying to get itself closer to the edge of the tank.</p><p>They carefully pet the starfish with Mark’s hand over Donghyuck’s at first to ensure he touched it, before moving it away and feeling the arms. Nervous laughter comes out of Mark that Donghyuck knows was fear that finally bubbled through, and Donghyuck smiles. This starfish is the kind of soft that Donghyuck was expecting yet it makes him somehow more scared to touch it than the rough one.</p><p>“Okay, no more for me,” Donghyuck pants. He pulls his hand out of the water definitively and steps away from the touch pool ledge.</p><p>Mark keeps his hand in for a while longer with Donghyuck trailing behind him. They wash their hands at the sinks when they’re done, playfully grabbing each others’ arms with wet hands. The kids around them shoot them weird looks sometimes as they walk back through parts of the aquarium and pull faces at the fish.</p><p>At the very end of all the exhibits is the obligatory gift shop that Donghyuck happily follows Mark into. There’s less kids in here than Donghyuck expected, which is good because that means he can look and touch all the plush sea creatures he wants. Fixing his bag, he thinks he could probably deal with carrying around one more small thing with him, just for comfort.</p><p>He wanders around the gift shop, squeezing all the stuffed animals and running his fingers along the glass paperweights with jellyfish designed into it. Donghyuck finds himself distracted looking at the postcards with pictures of the large tanks pasted onto them, and considers buying one and writing a note to Jaemin on it. He decides against it, only because they’ll be back in two days, and snail mail doesn’t go that fast.</p><p>As Donghyuck walks back over to the stuffed animals to buy one of the large round whale pillows, he finds Mark playing with a manta ray plush, holding it by its wings and pretending to flap them. Mark is still looking around at the other ones, and he turns to see Donghyuck, who makes his way closer.</p><p>“Just buy it, it’ll be awhile until we can come here again.” Donghyuck says.</p><p>“We’re coming here again?” Mark teases.</p><p>Donghyuck doesn’t know how to answer, feeling as if he got caught in an act. “If you want…?”</p><p>“Sure,” Mark laughs, walking ahead with his manta ray in hand. “But I’m paying next time.”</p><p>It’s another painstaking two hour bus ride to get from the aquarium to Kaohsiung, but at least Donghyuck now has a stuffed whale for him to squish and sleep on if he wants. Since they left the aquarium at around 3pm, they ate at a nearby restaurant before catching the bus.</p><p>At this point, Donghyuck feels like a pro at entertaining himself on long rides, though he opts to sleep anyway, the whale hugged tightly between his arms. He’s glad Mark stays awake because they would have surely missed their stop if they both slept. When he wakes, he groggily squeezes the whale plush back into shape and stands up, shaking out his legs.</p><p>Another walk, another journey. Mark holds his manta ray stuffed animal in one hand while the other is wrapped around Donghyuck’s wrist, guiding his sleep-addled body to their hotel room. Donghyuck doesn’t make any effort to inform Mark he’s more awake than he actually seems, rather content with allowing Mark to direct them between other people. Once in a while, he tips his head around to look at the city, and the light that shines through the windows and off the glass.</p><p>He’s reminded of the summers when they were kids, playing on the swings until the sun sunk low in the sky, and then running home illuminated only by streetlights. When Mark, who took the responsibility of being a year older than Donghyuck very seriously, and would hold his hand and excitedly lead him back home to prove he knew the way. Right before they reach their hotel, Donghyuck twists his wrist a little to loosen Mark’s grip, and he slips his hand forward to hold Mark’s instead, just like old times.</p><p>Mark indulges him until they reach the front desk, even going to swing their hands idly. As the past few days, Donghyuck lets Mark lead them since he has the room key and number.</p><p>"Hyuck, did you seriously book a room with one bed?" Mark asks from the doorway.</p><p>"You’re kidding, there's one bed?" he asks back incredulously, half delighted and hoping it doesn't break in his voice. Donghyuck's head snaps up and he walks past the entranceway to see the one very comfortable looking queen in the middle of the room. Laughing, he tells Mark, “I didn’t know, sorry. We can switch sleeping on the floor or something.”</p><p>Mark huffs, tossing his bag onto the covers. "No, it's fine. We've slept together before." Donghyuck's breath hitches.</p><p>"Yeah, when we were like. Babies." He tries sounding casual.</p><p>“Hardly. Did I not wake up with you in my bed three days ago?”</p><p>“I put myself there after you were already sleeping, that’s different. We don’t fall asleep together anymore.”</p><p>“Well then today’s a good time to start.” He flops back onto the bed, the soft mattress giving way under him. The manta ray he was holding earlier is placed on the mattress on its back as well, mimicking Mark’s pose. “Yes?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Donghyuck relents, taking in the rest of the room.</p><p>It’s the biggest room they’ve stayed in, probably because there’s only one bed occupying the space instead of two. Floating nightstands are nailed into the wall on either side of the headboard that seems to have lights attached to the back of it. A lounge chair is placed next to the window where a beautiful view of the Kaohsiung cityscape lies outside of it. With the abundance of space, there’s still room for a small round table and two chairs by the window as well.</p><p>For fun, he opens the nightstand closest to the door and finds a pad of paper. He walks over to the other nightstand and opens it to find a similar pad of paper and two foil condoms which he tries not to holler at.</p><p>“Mark, they left us a gift.” When Mark perks up, Donghyuck tosses the condoms next to Mark who looks quizzically at them until he realizes what they are.</p><p>“How thoughtful,” Mark says, handing them back. “God, who knows how long they’ve been there.”</p><p>“Wanna find out? You did say you wanted to sleep together, Mark,” Donghyuck jokes.</p><p>“Shut up.” As when Donghyuck says a lot of things, Mark rolls his eyes and turns away from him, facing his manta ray plush. Donghyuck knows he isn’t pretending to see the flush on Mark’s cheekbones before he looks away. “We need to eat.”</p><p>They finally go to get the soup noodles Donghyuck has been craving this whole trip. Both order a bowl of beef noodles- a clear broth and braised beef noodle that they share. Donghyuck feels like crying at the first bite, looking at Mark with wide eyes as Mark looks back at him the same.</p><p>“We are definitely coming here again,” Donghyuck says. Mark hides his smile behind a spoon of soup noodles.</p><p>Uncharacteristic given their attitudes of wanting to spend time out during vacations, they return to their hotel room early. Donghyuck would have loved to take a stroll if he wasn’t so tired- especially through the night market that’s so popular in Kaohsiung. Taiwan is an hour behind Seoul, so for the first time, Donghyuck is able to text Jaemin before it’s too late for the both of them and they go to bed. While Mark is in the bathroom, Donghyuck video calls Jaemin.</p><p>“<em>It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever</em>,” Jaemin says, voice tinny through Donghyuck’s speaker. He can tell Jaemin is laying on their bed, hair fluffed out across their blue covers.</p><p>“Me too. How’s it back home?”</p><p>“<em>Same soup, just reheated</em>.” Donghyuck laughs brightly. “<em>How about Taiwan- probably better than what I’m doing, right? How is Mark putting up with your shenanigans?”</em></p><p>“Mark is loving it, thank you very much. Uh, it’s hot and wet-”</p><p>“<em>Like me.</em>”</p><p>“-but we’re having a good time. Well, I’m enjoying it at least.” Donghyuck looks towards the window and then gets up, turning the camera so Jaemin can see Taiwan at night. He hopes the glare from their hotel room isn’t too bad.</p><p>“<em>Wow. I wish I could be with you.</em>” Donghyuck doesn’t know what stops him before he can say he wishes Jaemin were there with him too, but he doesn’t. There’s a new kind of silence that lingers between their phone lines, and guilt bubbles faintly in his chest as he watches Jaemin’s face even when Jaemin can’t see his. “<em>Where is Mark anyway?</em>”</p><p>“He’s right here,” Donghyuck hears from behind him. Turning around, he sees Mark with a towel around his neck, wet hair dripping water down his cheeks. He dries his fringe off a little before reaching to turn Donghyuck’s camera back around with a smile. “Wish you could see this in person Jaemin.”</p><p>“<em>Ugh, me too Mark. What did you guys do?</em>”</p><p>Taking his phone, Mark talks excitedly about the things they’ve been up to so far while Donghyuck grabs his pajamas and heads to the bathroom. Choosing to take his time, Donghyuck carefully scrubs off all the sweat that is perpetually coating him like a second skin. He can hear Mark’s laughter through the shower wall and it makes him smile.</p><p>Mark and Jaemin are still chatting when Donghyuck is out of his shower with Mark now flopped on the bed, though he relinquishes his phone soon after Donghyuck bends next to Mark so his face is also in frame. They speak altogether for a few more minutes until Jaemin bades them both a good night with tired eyes and hangs up.</p><p>“That was nice,” Mark says, wiggling himself under the sheets. He nudges Donghyuck’s leg from under the covers. “Kinda wish he were here with us.”</p><p>“Only kinda?”</p><p>“I like it like this. Just us. We haven’t had that in a while.” Oddly, Mark sounds remorseful when he says this which has Donghyuck looking up from his phone.</p><p>“We could always do it more. Just us, I mean,” Donghyuck suggests lightly.</p><p>Mark hums, then turns to face Donghyuck and snuggles into the pillow. “Turn off the rest of the lights, won’t you? But leave the bathroom light on please.”</p><p>“Scared of monsters?” He can see Mark’s smile, but Mark doesn’t answer.</p><p>Just like on the first day in two separate beds, Donghyuck doesn’t fall asleep immediately. Normally, he sleeps on his back but he’s turned on his side, away from Mark because he doesn’t think he would fall asleep any faster if he were to face him. Tomorrow is their last full day, and it’s Mark’s birthday- and while Donghyuck isn’t really obligated to get him a gift considering he gifted Mark this trip, he feels like he should. It’s around 12am when he finally closes his eyes, sleep washing over faster than he let himself believe.</p><p> </p><p>The first thing he notices when he wakes up is he’s still on his side, and the second is there is a weight heavier than a blanket on top of him. Sunlight shines from the curtains they forgot to close, though it must be overcast since the walls were tinted a warm dusty yellow. He can hear the rain pattering on the windows and he opens his eyes, met with Mark’s face squished against the pillow centimeters from his.</p><p>A dream; it's all Donghyuck can describe it as. His lashes are long and flutter against his cheekbones as his eyes shift beneath his eyelids. He has a couple scars and dark marks from acne, and one from fighting Donghyuck when he was younger, though it only serves to make Mark more stunning. His hair falls so neatly over his forehead, Donghyuck would be hard pressed to believe this wasn't staged- but it wasn't. Mark looks so calm and relaxed, nearly inviting in that Donghyuck would gladly stay in bed to stare at Mark for as long as he was asleep.</p><p>Somehow, he anticipated his reaction to be one of surprise from being so close, but Donghyuck only feels calamity when he looks at Mark. He tries to reach up to touch Mark’s face and realizes Mark has since wrapped himself around Donghyuck, legs tangled together with the sheets and his arm draped over his shoulder. It makes it a little difficult to maneuver himself from their mess of limbs though he manages and steps out of bed.</p><p>They don’t have any formal plans for today until the evening which allows them time to sleep in- and yet Donghyuck still managed to be up before 9am. He might as well make the best of it, so he washes up and puts on a new set of clothes to head out.</p><p>Buses and taxis and cars are already filling the streets as pedestrians hustle along the sidewalks. All of the world outside the hotel room is tinged that grey yellow in the oncoming storm, no sun to peek through the clouds but all the warmth that might come with it. The rain has barely started to fall so Donghyuck just starts walking, melding in with the crowds that seconds ago were moving around him.</p><p>He knows he doesn't know how to get back, especially with no knowledge of Taiwanese or a safety net of English like Mark is so proficient in, so he keeps walking straight ahead. The skies clear with every crosswalk he counts until the morning sun can be seen peeking through gaps in the thick layer of clouds. Several bakeries were open that Donghyuck passed by until he felt he walked a suitable amount, and dipped into one to buy a small cake for Mark.</p><p>It’s a rather temperate morning meaning Donghyuck can take his time walking back to the hotel without the fear of the cake going bad. Still, he picks up his pace at the last few crosswalks because even though he wasn’t worried about the cake, he was feeling a new sense of loneliness without Mark being at his side. He steals some of the coffee from the hotel breakfast before going up to their room, the acidic taste lingering on his tongue instead of the bitterness from the beans.</p><p>Mark is awake when Donghyuck walks in, leaned up against the headboard while the television plays the morning news. He’s biting at his hangnails- a habit they’re both trying to work through- when he looks up at Donghyuck.</p><p>“Happy birthday?” Donghyuck says, holding up the paper box with the cake inside.</p><p>“Not that I thought you died but I totally thought you died.” Mark gets off the bed, still in his hoodie and pajama shorts, to move the cake onto the table. “Thank you, for all of this. It means a lot.”</p><p>“It’s nothing. You deserve it.”</p><p>With the coffee stirrer Donghyuck took from the lobby as a makeshift candle, Mark makes a wish and they enjoy the cake by the window. Certainly it can’t be healthy to be having sweets this early in the morning but it doesn’t cross their minds as a concern. Donghyuck missed the chance to smear whatever little frosting was there onto Mark’s face because they were too occupied trying to cut it with the plastic butter knife the hotel provided.</p><p>The cake ruined their appetite for a proper lunch so they lay down on the bed and watch shows they don’t understand just to kill time. By the time noon comes and goes, they’re both changed into their outside clothes and ready to go out, choosing to hop around Kaohsiung wherever the bus will take them. Now with clear skies and Mark next to him, Donghyuck wanders down the streets of Kaohsiung.</p><p>A twenty minute train ride took them to the Dragon and Tiger Pagoda and Lotus Pond. Two bright gold pagodas with a tiger and dragon framing them sat at the end of a long walkway, connected by a bridge in the middle.</p><p>“Apparently, we’re supposed to walk in through the dragon mouth and exit out of the tiger mouth. It’s supposed to bring good luck,” Mark whispers to him as they walk down the zigzagged path.</p><p>“How do you know?’</p><p>“Well first, that sign over there says that, and second, everyone else is walking that way so why shouldn’t we follow?”</p><p>“You can read Chinese?” Mark slaps his shoulder and slips his arm under Donghyuck’s so they’re linked by the elbow.</p><p>Donghyuck would love to go higher up the pagoda, but Mark starts fussing by the second level and he pulls the birthday card, meaning Donghyuck has to give up trying to coerce Mark with him. He bolts up the steps anyway, telling Mark he’s completely free to stay where he is and wait if he wants to, which he does while Donghyuck heads up.</p><p>It looks better from higher as Donghyuck stands in the pane of a window overlooking the pond, completely open and wide. Few lotus flowers float along the surface while most of it is undisturbed. He can see the other pavilions along the pond from the top as well, and he wishes he could show Mark.</p><p>The stairs are narrow and it's far harder to make it down than to go up. Mark is waiting on the connecting bridge for Donghyuck, peering over the edge at the lotus pads that drift beneath him. Donghyuck holds himself back from spooking Mark too badly this time around, just bumping shoulders sidling next to him. Playfully, Mark bumps his shoulder back and they continue back and forth until realizing it may get to the point of shoving each other off the bridge.</p><p>Exiting the tiger’s mouth, they follow up the same zig zag path around the pond to the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, another pair of elaborate and beautiful structures connected by a dragon that is able to be walked through. Children giggle as they run excitedly beside them through the inside of the dragon. Donghyuck points out the Dragon and Tiger Pagoda to Mark once they reach the other end.</p><p>Because there are temples nearby, they choose to visit some of them too since they still have the rest of the day ahead of them. Mark is far more of a devout Christian than Donghyuck is, but the temples are too ornate and beautiful to walk by and not admire. And they spend most of the day in leisure, nudging and poking each other, and Donghyuck telling Mark happy birthday every time they reach a new location.</p><p>It really feels like Donghyuck has planned the activities around the sun as they return to the area around their hotel half an hour before sunset. He booked this hotel specifically for the location next to Love River, though the single bed was entirely unplanned. In all honesty, Donghyuck just thought Love River was a nice landmark to go to, but as they walk closer to the bridge that sits across the body of water, he feels himself getting nervous.</p><p>People stop all along the length of the bridge and even more people start to walk on as the sun dips lower into the sky. They stop about halfway and look out at the river, the boats lined along the dock rocking gently as other boats glide down past them.</p><p>Donghyuck sighs, fingers drumming against the railing. “Good trip?”</p><p>“Great trip, actually.”</p><p>“Well, you are welcome then.” Mark gives him a smile and Donghyuck smiles back, leaning forward onto the railing. He relaxed into the sight of the people walking along the length of the river until Mark speaks up again.</p><p>“So…” he starts, tone significantly more serious, “Why did you bring me here?”</p><p>“Birthday gift,” Donghyuck answers easily. He’s only half-lying, but he and Mark have known each other for too many years for Donghyuck to forget that Mark doesn’t let things slip by him.</p><p>“What’s the real reason, Donghyuck?”</p><p>The use of his name makes him recoil. Donghyuck had wondered for exactly how long Mark might be able to keep up the act and ignore the elephant in the room. He supposes it’s better Mark asked now rather than earlier, when they would’ve had to spend the rest of their vacation in each other’s awkward air. Gesturing for Mark to hold out his hand, he reaches into his pocket and grabs the velvet box he foolishly packed with him, placing it into Mark’s open palm.</p><p>“What’s this?”</p><p>Donghyuck watches Mark grasp the box and let go of it, not opening without permission. At Donghyuck’s nod, Mark raises an eyebrow and lifts the lid, beholding a sleek gold band, polished enough to reflect Mark’s wide eyes. “I was going to propose to Jaemin.”</p><p>Startled, Mark whips his head around to look at Donghyuck, hand clenching closed around the box to not drop it into the river. “Are you for real? That’s incredible! Wait- dude, don’t let me hold this, what the hell.” he splutters.</p><p>Donghyuck just about snorts. “Is it?”</p><p>“Yes? Oh my gosh, be more excited,” Mark says, giving Donghyuck back the box who takes it gingerly. “Not that I hate this, you know, but if you were gonna propose to him, why am I here? Am I not invited to the wedding or something?”</p><p>In that moment of lax, Donghyuck finds it in himself to laugh wholly this time, entirely amused that Mark would even think for a second he would be anything but the best man at his wedding. He laughs like nothing is wrong, like this trip wasn’t meant to selfishly try to figure out his own tumultuous feelings in which Mark happened to be at the center of. All the memories of the past few days rush past Donghyuck all at once.</p><p>“I wanted to know what it would’ve felt like to wake up next to you,” Donghyuck eventually says. Mark seems to take the smile still lingering on his face as a joke.</p><p>“And what did it feel like?” Mark asks.</p><p>“Home.”</p><p>Fortunately for him, Mark catches on quickly that Donghyuck isn’t joking anymore. The sound of the boats disturbing the water under them drowns out the silence Mark subjects them to, and Donghyuck knows even without looking at him that the smile has fallen off his face. But his own lips still edge up at the corners, fully aware that he might’ve messed up badly; and if there’s any better time to confess, it has to be now.</p><p>“Is this one of the three?” Mark mutters. “‘Love River’? Was it planned?”</p><p>The setting sun reflects off the water into his irises as gold. Donghyuck sighs. “Would you hate me if I said yes?”</p><p>Contrary to popular belief, the sun sets far faster than Donghyuck would have anticipated. The warmth of its light dips below the horizon within minutes, and the street lamps flicker on in an artificial warmth over the sidewalks and the bridge. The water ripples underneath as love boats sail down the river, their pink lights lining the edge bouncing off the waves.</p><p>Donghyuck isn't sure if he wants to say anything. He wonders if he should apologize for dumping this on Mark on his birthday of all days while they’re not home; too far away from home to run away from each other if it falls through. Donghyuck never thought of that. Maybe he was too hopeful to believe they wouldn’t need to.</p><p>“No,” Mark breathes, choosing to break the silence. Panic runs through Donghyuck like a jolt of electricity, and he nearly holds his breath. But Mark looks up at where the moon rests in the sky, telling him, “I could never hate you.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghyuck is barely able to push open the door to their room fully before he’s shoving Mark against the closest wall and kissing him with meaning. Mark squirms against him, but Donghyuck grabs his chin and pushes his leg between Mark’s thighs. A thin string of spit connects their lips when Donghyuck pulls away, eyes focused on how red Mark’s look.</p><p>“Let me do this once. Tonight.” Donghyuck asks, gaze flickering between both of Mark’s eyes that well with unshed tears. “This will be the only time.”</p><p>Mark inhales shakily, nodding his head. And Donghyuck grabs it and runs.</p><p>Surging forward, Donghyuck pushes Mark until he’s sitting where he wants him on the bed, the mattress springs creaking as Donghyuck kneels over Mark and kisses him again. He tips Mark’s head up slightly so he can lick into his mouth, tongue sweeping over his palate. The whines breaking out of Mark get swallowed by Donghyuck like he won’t let anyone else hear them. He won’t, if he can help it.</p><p>With eager hands, Donghyuck runs his fingertips along Mark’s stomach beneath his shirt, each movement hiking the white tee higher and higher. He can feel the stickiness of his skin from the sweat but Donghyuck doesn’t care; he’s far too absorbed in making sure he touches everything he can. Up his ribcage, over his armpits where Donghyuck lifts the shirt off and grazes his along Mark’s arms as he lifts them over his head to take it off entirely.</p><p>His hands move back down, starting at his collarbones and admiring the hollow of his clavicle when Mark inhales. Donghyuck doesn’t know how Mark managed to get on skinny jeans in this weather, and he unbuttons the waistband, hooking his fingers over the edge and dragging them off Mark’s legs. There are indents on his flesh from where the seams of the jeans pressed into his skin when Mark refused to sit in a chair normally. Mark jerks when Donghyuck touches the elastic of his underwear, finally starting to show some resistance to Donghyuck’s advances.</p><p>“You first,” Mark argues, one hand moving to stop Donghyuck’s.</p><p>He can’t possibly be getting shy now but Donghyuck complies, stripping off his shirt first and then his pants, leaving them both on the bed in their underwear- and per Mark's requests, he takes his off first and lets Mark take off his own. Once they're gone, Donghyuck moves his hand over Mark's hips, the skin on skin contact feeling almost overwhelming.</p><p>Never in a million years would Donghyuck believe he could get Mark naked and underneath him. Donghyuck soaks in how breathless Mark looks panting against the sheets, his body blushed red and eyes glinting. His gaze trails down, past his heaving chest, past his toned stomach, past the erection that lies against his stomach, drooling precum into the hollow of his hipbone.</p><p>“Just like a dream,” Donghyuck breathes out, so hushed he barely registers him having said it. “You’re so pretty, Mark Lee.”</p><p>Mark chokes on a gasp. Wetness shines at his temples and collects under his eyes, and Donghyuck leans back over Mark to kiss the tears that fell, the saltiness clinging to his tongue like a film.</p><p>As he moves down, Donghyuck tries to kiss Mark again, who only turns his face away.</p><p>Donghyuck can’t even pretend like it didn’t hurt him as he whispers a <em>fuck</em> immediately after, a pang ringing through his sternum. They aren’t lovers, so why is he letting it affect him like they are? It seems throughout this whole vacation, Donghyuck had to constantly remind himself that he has someone already, and that Mark is his friend. That Mark is just his friend and he should stop phrasing things in his mind like they love each other.</p><p>There’s a difference now as Donghyuck pushes Mark’s legs further apart and he thinks of Jaemin’s pale thighs flexing under his fingers. Instead of stopping, Donghyuck keeps with the thought of how much more flexible Mark is, the tightness of his body, the way he’s still giving in. So he pushes on.</p><p>The condoms the nightstand Donghyuck laughed at doesn’t seem so ridiculous now as he pulls one out and sets it on the mattress. He’s going to pretend the sachet of lube he found in his bag was always there to avoid feeling pity for himself too as he coats his fingers in some of it. He otherwise would have pushed cold fingers into Mark if they weren’t in this situation; so as he waits for the lube to warm a little, Donghyuck counts his breaths and wills his heart to stop racing.</p><p>He preps Mark carefully, taking his time like he’s trying to make up for it. Every move is slow because Donghyuck doesn’t want to hurt Mark, not like this. One finger turns to two, which turns to three that scissor and stretch Mark open. Mark huffs and squirms with every new finger, though not enough to warrant Donghyuck stopping.</p><p>Mark finally looks at Donghyuck once he’s rolling the condom on, and Donghyuck catches him. Looking away isn’t even on the list of things Donghyuck imagines doing- just watches Mark until the older tears his gaze away first with a blush. Donghyuck wants to kiss him so badly, but he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to take Mark turning away from him again.</p><p>Somehow, Donghyuck forgets that Mark knows him as much as Donghyuck thinks he knows Mark. It almost feels like Mark can read his mind, because he’s soon reaching up to cup Donghyuck’s face and kiss him. Donghyuck is stock still at first, then he melts at the feeling of Mark’s lips against his.</p><p>Truly he thinks kissing Mark is enough, unwilling to break away even when Mark’s thighs tighten around his hips. He chases his lips until the last second, craving the feeling of desire dripping between them. They part enough to take a breath, and enough for Donghyuck to position himself at Mark’s entrance, ready to push in. He gives another peck and places their foreheads together, unwilling to not look at how Mark looks when he pushes in.</p><p>Mark’s jaw drops open as his inhale stutters, and Donghyuck exhales against his mouth, overwhelmed at how beautiful Mark really looks like this. Unable to stop himself, Donghyuck fucks into Mark shallowly, just small thrusts because he can’t handle how good Mark feels around him. He only does it twice before one of Mark’s hands comes to press against Donghyuck’s pelvis, fingers digging into the softness of his stomach.</p><p>“No, not yet,” Mark gasps. The surge of pride Donghyuck feels is insurmountable, and he runs his hands along Mark’s ribs as he waits.</p><p>“Okay, not yet. Not yet, not yet,” Donghyuck whispers as a way to calm himself. It makes Mark laugh, something short and sweet and atypical of the situation. Donghyuck watches as Mark turns his head away, hand going to cover his mouth, and Donghyuck smiles too. “Funny?”</p><p>Mark shoots him a grin that’s taken over by a gasp as Donghyuck repositions himself. “Never,” Mark mumbles, eyes slipping closed, but the grin lingers on his face.</p><p>With Mark looking this way beneath him, Donghyuck might end up suggesting they run away, legs taking their bodies as far as they’ll go. Selfishly, he wants to be the only one to see Mark in this manner.</p><p>Holding Mark closer, he kisses his eyelids and laces their fingers together. The headboard of the bed taps against the wall rhythmically with Donghyuck’s thrusts, and he almost feels bad for the poor tourists on the other side who have to put up with this. But he can't stop, not when this may be his only chance.</p><p>He fucks Mark like he’s trying to love him, or trying to prove to him that he does. What he’ll gain out of it he doesn’t know, because he’ll still return to Seoul in less than 24 hours, and they’ll be back to being friends, and only if Mark will let that happen. To be honest, Donghyuck didn’t think this trip would do anything more than just solidify their friendship- yet here he is, hoping that he might have just one more day with him, unhindered beneath the endless Taiwan skies.</p><p>Donghyuck can’t keep going forever, even if he wants to; at some point all of the repercussions will catch up to him. For now, he presses himself as close to Mark as he can and drowns in the feeling of being with him because he’s scared of what will happen if he doesn’t.</p><p>It’s the sunniest morning he’s woken up to since being on this trip as the typhoon rain flooded the streets at night. Once again, he’s facing Mark when he opens his eyes, and Mark is awake looking solemnly back at him.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Donghyuck apologizes preemptively. His voice cracks and he hopes it doesn’t make him seem any less genuine, despite not knowing what he’s apologizing for yet. He just thinks Mark deserves a sorry.</p><p>He turns away and sits up, rubbing the sleep in his eyes and cracking his bones. The bed dips as Mark shifts his weight, sitting up next to Donghyuck. He’s clearly already gotten up before Donghyuck and gotten ready, his hair brushed up and out of his face and none of his joints cracking like Donghyuck’s. That means Mark got back into bed next to Donghyuck after it all, and he feels hope bubbling inside him where it shouldn’t.</p><p>Mark is silent as he gets up to go to the bathroom, and he’s silent as Donghyuck changes, eyes following his movements. It makes him a little irate that he won’t say anything, but he tamps it down. Like Mark did, Donghyuck sits back down on the mattress over the covers.</p><p>“What are you going to tell Jaemin?” Mark asks, pulling his legs up.</p><p>“Gonna tell him we went to the aquarium and I got scared by a whale.”</p><p>“And?” Mark presses.</p><p>“And I’m gonna tell him we ate the aglio e olio that he loves and it was delicious.”</p><p>“And…?”</p><p>Donghyuck kisses his teeth. “And <em>what</em>, Mark? Want me to tell him how you sound getting fucked too?”</p><p>“Don’t you think he deserves to know? How you bed your best friend on a birthday present trip to Taiwan while your boyfriend-almost-fiancee lay at home?” Mark bites, grabbing Donghyuck’s wrist and yanking him closer. “Doesn’t Jaemin deserve at least that?”</p><p>“And you’re saying that like you didn’t spread your legs for me two seconds ago, right Mark? Doesn’t Jaemin deserve to know how his friend Mark let himself be bed by his boyfriend on his birthday gift to Taiwan?” As the words leave his mouth, Donghyuck presses his lips together in regret, pulling his hand away from Mark’s grip.</p><p>Donghyuck wishes sincerely that he could’ve left Jaemin in the airport with good intentions three days ago. Wishes his contentment with Jaemin outweighed his desire to risk it with Mark.</p><p>Yet he’s reminded of exactly how quick he figured out why he brought Mark onto this trip. Donghyuck’s mind is filled with images of how happy Mark was next to him this whole time, how calm he looked when he slept at night, how his eyes glinted when he was showing something to him, and how much Donghyuck wants to see exactly that, forever.</p><p>“He’ll know,” Donghyuck says. “Eventually.”</p><p>They pack their bags and eat the rest of Mark’s birthday cake that they stuck in the fridge. Almost as if they’re carrying the energy from yesterday night, they don’t stop touching each other as they clean up the room and pack their bags. A graze of a hand here, the brush of their knees there. Leaving their room and riding the bus to the airport, they’re shoulder to shoulder and neither make the effort to try pulling away.</p><p>The flight back has Donghyuck just as nervous as the flight to, though for different reasons. As he watches the sun behind Mark’s silhouette, the consequences of his actions finally catch up to him, and he lets out a sigh at the sight that he may not get to see again. Kaohsiung, and then Taiwan shrink from below them, until they’re in international airspace and trying to stretch the minutes until they land. His eyes follow every one of Mark’s movements unconsciously, afraid that if he looks away, he might wake up from this dream.</p><p>For two hours, Donghyuck is stuck in emotional limbo. Every thirty minutes or so, he’ll be overwhelmed with the idea of not going back- to stay in the airport and catch another flight anywhere and to take Mark with him. And then he remembers that though he may be willing to drop off the face of the Earth and what he has, Mark may not be. So Donghyuck sinks back into his seat and imagines the conversation he’ll eventually have to have with Jaemin.</p><p>Halfway through, Mark must notice his sulking because he grabs Donghyuck’s hand and laces their fingers together soundlessly. He squeezes tight once, but doesn’t let go until it’s their turn to get off of the plane, and still he only lets go once they pass the gate.</p><p>He trails behind Mark a few paces as they make their way to security. At the last moment as he gets his passport checked, Donghyuck imagines himself turning back around, but he bids goodbye to the guard and walks toward the exit. The waiting area has a few people, and just beyond it is the expansive wall of windows where the sunlight shines through onto polished tile. He distantly hears Mark exhale deeply as he looks out those windows, eyes flickering across each pane.</p><p>Donghyuck goes to stand next to him, hands shoved into his pockets. “Don’t look so upset. Didn’t you have fun?”</p><p>“Of course I did.” Mark scoffs.</p><p>Turning, he pulls Mark in for a handshake, something commonplace and otherwise not worth suspicion. Without thinking too hard, he presses into Mark’s hand the red velvet box he’d been hiding in his coat pocket. “Can’t bring this home anymore.”</p><p>“What do I do with this?” Mark asks quietly.</p><p>“Keep it safe, I guess. It’ll be yours in a few years anyway,” Donghyuck lays a soft kiss to the back of Mark’s hand as a promise. Mark gasps, and Donghyuck can see how his eyes are shiny with tears, mouth already forming around the refusal. “Take it. For me.”</p><p>Hoping Mark will understand that this isn’t a joke either, he lets go of him and steps back, noticing how Mark’s hand trembles as he grips the box. One deep breath later, Donghyuck gives Mark a weak grin and turns around as he leaves behind Mark and the promise of something more that he won’t let go of. They’ll be back again soon- Donghyuck will make sure of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>to the anon in my cc who asked if i would write dongmark/markhyuck again, i started this two days after answering that. for all the people who were patiently waiting for the dm/mh return, i hope you enjoyed, even just a little bit :)<br/>also i went to taiwan years ago now so forgive me for. everything lol</p><p>
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